Internet via mobile home broadband is offered in locations where no proper broadband is available. connect and zafaco have investigated what users can expect from such solutions.
The general framework and strategies behind the broadband expansion are the result of the fact that there are places in both Germany and Austria where DSL, cable and/or optical fibre are unavailable but 4G mobile network coverage is quite good.
Network operators are happy to supply customers at these locations a ‘4G cube’ to give them a so-called home broadband connection. The device is effectively a stationary 4G router (i.e. plugged into the mains socket).
Home broadband is also popular in holiday homes and with campers; they can be frequently found in motorhomes where they provide owners with an Internet connection while on the road.
Mobile network performance also depends on other users
For stationary users, connections via 4G usually fall into the ‘better than nothing’ category but they have their drawbacks too. For one thing, home broadband tariffs with unlimited data usage are the most expensive tariffs of all. Other tariffs might be cheaper but they throttle the data speed once the data allowance has been used up. The performance of mobile networks also depends on how many users are simultaneously active in the same cell and what they downloading from the network.
If there is a large amount of simultaneous streaming traffic in the evening or many users are downloading a recently released operating system update, data speeds and response times are likely to tumble.
User experience has top priority in this test
connect’s partner in our broadband and fixed network tests as well as in many other network-based performance tests is the Ismaning-based company zafaco. We therefore asked them to take a closer look at Internet access via 4G home broadband.
Home broadband and fixed line broadband connections were installed at several zafaco sites for this purpose. Between mid-July and mid-August, zafaco subjected the devices to an extensive test program specially developed for web services and web TV. A total of 455,524 measurements were evaluated during this period.
For reference purposes, we also compared the results of the 4G-based fixed network alternatives with those from a conventional 100 Mbit/s DSL connection and a DSL hybrid connection (i.e. a combination of a rather weak ADSL line and a mobile network).
You can read how well the individual package offerings fared in connect issue 10/2020.